Thursday’s lone sub-par round in the 97th MGA Senior Amateur Championship at GlenArbor propelled Dennis Lynch of Baiting Hollow Club to his second career title in the championship and fourth career MGA victory. Lynch carded a 1-under 71 to earn the two-shot victory.

Lynch, who won his second of two straight MGA Mid-Amateur titles at GlenArbor in 2010, opened the day two shots off the pace after his even-par opening round on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old opened with four pars before making birdie on the par-5 fifth hole. He made bogey on the par-4 ninth as he made the turn, but was tied atop the leaderboard after day one leaders dropped back in the round.

“Some of the shorter par fours here, where you think you’re going to make up some ground on most courses, those are the holes here where you really have to watch yourself, you have to hit fairways,” Lynch said. “If you don’t hit fairways here you’re not making pars, you’re making bogeys and doubles and I was lucky enough to get through without any doubles, and that was probably the difference.”

Lynch had several challengers through the day, including Jon Doppelt of Silo Ridge and his fellow competitor Dave Scialabba of Meadow Brook.

A birdie on the par-4 13th for Doppelt lifted him to even-par for the championship and in the mix, but a double-bogey on the par-3 17th dropped him off the pace.

The par-4 16th proved most pivotal on the day. Lynch and Scialabba came to the hole tied at even-par. With the tees up and the hole drivable, both players safely found the fairway. Scialabba’s approach came up short and gave him a challenging chip out of gnarly rough just outside the penalty area, Lynch knocked his approach to just a couple of feet. Lynch rolled in his birdie while Scialabba made bogey for a two-shot swing.

“I was lucky to hit it that close,” Lynch said. 

Both players made pars on the final two holes to earn Lynch the two-shot victory and his fourth career MGA title.

"Last year going to Baiting Hollow I had high hopes and I knew at that course that small misses can take you out of it, and that’s kind of what happened to me the second day," he said. "Luckily today I hit most the fairways and got it around."

Behind Scialabba at 1-over for the championship came Doppelt and Alan Specht of Port Jefferson at Harbor Hill, both at 2-over. Past champion Ned Zachar of GlenArbor finished solo fifth.

David Boccia of Huntington and Thomas Trakoval of Port Jefferson at Harbor Hill both turned in 5-over 149 totals, and Nick Desai of Baltusrol finished solo ninth at 6-over. First-round leader D. Scott Mackesy of Winged Foot led a group of five players that tied for tenth.

GlenArbor was welcoming its third MGA championship, previously hosting the 2018 MGA Father & Son Championship and the 2010 MGA Mid-Amateur. It’s Gary Player design that flows across the rolling landscape serves as a true test, demanding accuracy from tee to green.

The 98th MGA Senior Amateur Championship will take place in New Jersey, with the site to be announced.

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